A new foundation for pain care
As a health care provider, the current tools for managing chronic pain might feel incomplete. Pain Foundations is designed to bridge that gap, empowering you to move from clinical observation to compassionate partnership.
Our compact, online program offers you the keys to unlock more effective, clinically relevant outcomes for your patients.
Learning outcomes
What you will learn
This program is rooted in trauma-informed care and collaborative communication so that you can support a person living with pain.
By the end of this journey, you will be equipped to:
- Honor the individual: Recognize pain as a complex, subjective reality unique to every human being.
- Translate the science: Master the biology of the nervous system to provide patients with clear, actionable insights into their chronic pain.
- Lead with equity: Identify and dismantle the stigma and systemic barriers such as ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status that prevent marginalized voices from being heard.
- Build bridges: Practice the culturally safe communication skills essential for a resilient therapeutic partnership.
- Collaborative care: Shift from prescribing medication to collaborating on pain assessments and total pain management plans.
Why you should take this program
- Clinically relevant: Non-pharmacological approaches to managing chronic pain are more important than ever. Developed in consultation with clinical experts and people living with pain, Pain Foundations will enable you to gain foundational knowledge in chronic pain and pain management and serves as a basis for more advanced learning.
- Brought to you by Canada’s pain experts: Pain Foundations was developed by Pain BC, a national and international leader in chronic pain. We offer Pain BC Certification, a stamp of quality recognized around the world.
- Online, compact and self-paced: Learn at your own pace and from the comfort of your home or office, with minimal time from your practice, family and life.
- Earn CME Credits
Program structure
Advance your practice and use Pain Foundations certificates to earn CME credits
How to get certified
Your journey is structured to grow with you:
- The Basic foundation: Complete the core modules and surveys to earn your Pain Foundations -Basic Certificate.
- The Advanced certification: For those looking to lead, complete all eight modules to earn the Pain Foundations Advanced Certificate, the definitive mark of a practitioner dedicated to the future of pain care.
Course outline
The basic modules are a prerequisite for the advanced series of modules. Each participant will receive a certificate of completion upon finishing all three basic modules.
Module 1: Introduction to Pain Foundations
1.1 The Pain Foundations Program
1.2 Defining Pain
1.3 Acute to Chronic Pain
1.4 Pain Management in Context
1.5 Practicing Cultural Humility
Module 2: Exploring Pain Beyond Body and Mind
2.1 Pain: It’s Real
2.2 Pain: Body or Mind?
2.3 Different Brains Still Feel Pain
2.4 Communicating Effectively
Module 3: Living with Pain
3.1 Compassion and the Lived Experience of Pain
3.2 Trauma and Its Connection with Pain
3.3 Pain and the Self
3.4 Pain and Relationships
3.5 Pain from a Systemic Perspective
3.6 Moving Beyond Stigma
Participants must complete all three basic Pain Foundations modules before beginning any of the advanced modules. Each of the advanced modules may be taken independent of one another and learners will receive a separate certificate for each one they choose to complete.
Module 4: Pain Physiology - (Two hours approx.)
4.1 Pain Classification
4.2 Altered Pain Perception
4.3 The Role of the Nervous System
4.4 Pain Modulation and Sensitization
4.5 The Brain and Pain
4.6 Changes in Body Functioning
Module 5: Biopsychosocial Pain Assessment in Clinical Settings - (One hour and 20 min approx.)
5.1 Biopsychosocial Approach to Pain Assessment
5.2 Pain Assessment - The OPQRSTUV Tool
5.3 Unidimensional and Multidimensional Pain Assessment Tools
5.4 Specialized Assessment Tools
Module 6: Collaborative Pain Care - (Two hours approx.)
6.1 Treating Pain That is Chronic
6.2 Readiness to Change
6.3 Stages of Change
6.4 Pharmacological Treatment Options
6.5 Complementary and Alternative Pharmacological Options
6.6 Medical Interventions
Module 7: Pain Self-Management - (One hour and 40 min approx.)
7.1 Overview of Supported Self-Management of Chronic Pain
7.2 Pain Education
7.3 General Supported Self-Management Strategies
7.4 Gentle Movement, Healthy Eating, and Sleep
7.5 Self-Care
Module 8: Disability and Chronic Pain - (Two hours and 40 min approx.)
8.1 Understanding Disability
8.2 Chronic Pain as a Form of Disability
8.3 Workplace Disability and Chronic Pain
8.4 Overview of Motor Disabilities
8.5 Mobility Disabilities and Chronic Pain
8.6 Optimizing Mobility Support
8.7 Clinical Care Considerations
8.8 Pain Management in the Context of Disability
Module 9: Sex, Gender and Chronic Pain - (One hour and 20 min approx.)
9.1 Important Concepts to Consider
9.2 Health Disparities in Pain Management
9.3 Transgender and Gender-Diverse Pain Experience
9.4 Addressing Stigma in TGD Pain Care
Capstone Module - (One hour and 30 mins approx.)
This module explores case studies through three different perspectives: psychosocial professionals, manual therapist professionals, and medical professionals. Please note that this module is only available for health care providers who have completed from Pain Foundations Modules 1-9.
Funding for this program was provided by Health Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada.
Faculty
Contributors and reviewers (Pain Foundations – 1st version): Terri Aldred, MD; Terri Betts, BSc (Pharm), ACPR; Wesley Buch, PhD R.Psych; Donna Buna, BSc Pharm, PharmC; Michael Butterfield, MD; May Caprio, PhD, R.Psych; Sarah Derman, RN; Ada Glustein, MA (Ed); Bruce Hobson, MD; Najam Mian, MD; Janice Muir, CNS; Neil Pearson, PT, MSC (RHBS), BA-BPHE, C-IAYT, ERYT500; Brenda Poulton, MN, RN, NP(A); Arun Radhakrishnan, MD; Lindsey Rite, BSc (Kin), DC, CSEP-CEP; Cameron Ross, MD; Susan Reid-Schellinck, BSc (OT); Pamela Squire, MD; Shirley Sze, MD; Davidicus Wong, MD.
Contributors and reviewers (current Pain Foundations Program): Wesley Buch, PhD R.Psych, Judy Dercksen, MD ; Arun Radhakrishnan, MD; Susan Reid-Schellinck, BSc (OT); Shirley Sze, MD.